Dragon Wings
by Mellpen00
Summary: A messenger-dragon with no message; a ship ripped to shreds. Astrid was missing, and heaven help anyone who stood in Hiccup's way of finding her. Takes place during Race to the Edge. No slash, smut, or swears.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** This is my first published fanfiction, so please, bombard me with constructive criticism! Or complements, that works too. If the criticism I get bombarded with is _not_ constructive, I will most likely chuckle at your ill placed fury.

This idea started forming after I watched the first season of the Neflix show RTTE, and wondered what happened in between that, where Astrid says that she and Hiccup are "just friends", and HTTYD 2 where they are clearly in an established relationship. So, I satisfied my imagination! Hope you enjoy, and please review!

 **Updated 6/25/16 A/N:** When I was going through my stories recently and read over this one again, I noticed several places where the plot wasn't handled well, or the dialog seemed forced, or I just didn't like how I had written it. That being said, I went over the story and revised it a little. Sorry, there isn't a new chapter, and you may not even notice some of the changes I made, but I did extend a scene or two and resolve some things that bothered me. If you notice any errors or plot holes, please let me know! Thank you to all of you who have read and reviewed this before, and to any new-comers, I hope you like it!

* * *

 **Dragon Wings**

"Hiccup!" Astrid screamed as she toppled over the side of the ship. Hiccup sprinted towards the gap in the railing, unstrapping his metal leg as he ran.

"Hold him, bud!" He yelled at Toothless just before he plunged into the icy water. Though it took him a moment to focus properly in the water, soon he spotted a wreath of beautiful golden hair not too far below him, but it was sinking fast. He propelled himself downward as best he could with his one leg. Hiccup could see Astrid struggling with the ropes that tied her hands, but the chains on her feet were pulling her down faster than he could get to her. He kept swimming toward her though his lungs burned and his muscles screamed in protest. All he knew was he had to keep going.

* * *

"Is that Smidvarg?" Fishlegs asked. Hiccup looked up from one of the splintered beams he was moving to see the white Night Terror flying in their direction.

"I guess Astrid made use of our carrier dragon after all." he said, dropping the beam and heading over towards where Smidvarg had landed.

"Something may be wrong, Hiccup," Fishlegs cautioned, "Night Terrors are nocturnal, they don't fly in the daytime unless there's an emergency."

After the last attack from a new species of dragon – which Fishlegs had promptly dubbed Brazier-Bombers – their base was half burnt, and the half that wasn't burnt was a waste of wood splinters and slivers of rock. Astrid had gone on a mission to Berk two days ago to get materials, and she had taken Smidvarg with her as a kind of carrier-pigeon. As Hiccup and Fishlegs approached, however, Smidvarg cowered and was about to fly off, but Toothless roared and the Night Terror stood frozen, still ready to take flight at a moment's notice. Hiccup extended his hand out to Smidvarg and moved slowly towards him. He closed his eyes and let his hand hover right over terrified Terror's snout.

Smidvarg soon calmed, and pushed his nose into Hiccup's hand.

"That is so cool!" Fishlegs breathed.

With Smidvarg relaxed, Hiccup reached down to the tube that was pinned on his carrier collar to get whatever note was inside. He didn't feel anything, so he took the collar off of the dragon and looked down the tube.

"There's nothing in it," he said to Fishlegs, watching as the small dragon flew off.

"Maybe Smidvarg got away," Fishlegs proposed, "... from Astrid." Hiccup raised an eyebrow at him and he shook his head. "No, you're right, that would never happen."

"What's going on?" Snotlout asked as his Monstrous Nightmare alighted.

"Smidvarg came back, but there wasn't any message from Astrid." Hiccup held up the empty tube.

Snotlout snorted. "She's probably just playing a joke, wants to make us worry. Ah, that Astrid," he said, shaking his head, "always up to some prank. Or, wait, is that me?" Snotlout stroked his chin thoughtfully and Fishlegs rolled his eyes.

"Come on guys," Hiccup said, refocusing the conversation, "Try and be serious. Astrid could be in trouble."

"Relax, Dragon-boy," Snotlout dismissed Hiccup's concerns. "Astrid's a big girl, she can take care of herself." Hiccup shrugged his shoulders in concession.

"And now," Snotlout continued nonchalantly, "if you lollygaggers are done lollygagging," a wind was raised as Hookfang took off, "we have work to do!"

Despite Snotlout's rather questionable admonition, Hiccup stood there for a moment longer, scrutinizing the carrier tube as if he were trying to find some secret message Astrid had written on it.

"Come on Hiccup," Fishlegs said, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but Snotlout's right; we shouldn't worry about Astrid. For another day at least." Fishlegs started walking toward a pile of rocks and he called over his shoulder, "She's hardly the 'Damsel in Distress' type anyway." Hiccup assented reluctantly and started walking toward another pile of rubble waiting to be moved. He just couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

-0o0-0o0-0o0-0o0-0o0-0o0-

Hiccup couldn't stand it any longer. He had spent the whole of the next morning glancing at the sky, subconsciously waiting for a Deadly Nadder to make its way onto the horizon. He kept telling himself that he shouldn't worry, and he wasn't really worried, just... uneasy. Finally, right after noon, Hiccup headed for the stables to get Toothless ready for a fly.

-0o0-0o0-0o0-0o0-0o0-0o0-

This was where he needed to be, out in the wind and air, soaring through the clouds, all his troubles forgotten. Well, almost all. Hiccup couldn't figure out why he was thinking so constantly about why Astrid hadn't come back. Sure, he would have been concerned if it were any other rider too, but not like this. In a last attempt to clear his mind, Hiccup shot up into the air, did a barrel roll, and dove down towards the waves below. The boy and his dragon raced down at lightning speed, and just before they hit the water, Toothless spread his wings and skimmed across the surface, so close that Hiccup could feel the spray on his face. It felt good. He was just about to head back toward Dragon's Edge when he saw a ship up ahead. Or, he thought it was a ship.

As he approached it, Hiccup saw that it was a indeed a ship, but it had been badly damaged; the mast was half gone and the sides of the ship had been splintered until they didn't serve much purpose. He circled above the ship, and saw what must have been the crew climbing onto the largest piece of wreckage they could find. One of the men looked up and pointed at him, yelling something and waving his arms in what looked like a distress signal. The other men saw where their crewmate was pointing and followed suit. Hiccup circled one last time before coming to land gingerly on the splintered deck.

"What happened to your ship?" Hiccup asked, still mounted on Toothless. He didn't want to disturb the precarious boat any more than he had to.

"T'were a storm that blew us off course," the one who looked like the leader said, "and once we were in that blasted fog bank we couldn'a see anythin'! We drifted 'round a bit a'fore the dragon trapper came on us, all sudden like. No sooner 'ad we seen 'im than 'e started blowin' our ship t' bits! 'E must'a thought we was harboring some dragon an' its rider, for 'e stopped with the hammerin' soon as a dragon came out'o the mist."

Hiccup's eyes widened. Dragon trappers! This couldn't be good. "Did you get a good look at the trapper?"

"Nay, we w's too far out t'-"

"I did!" a younger crewman interrupted. "I were in the crow's nest wen it started, and though I couldn'a see 'im all that clearly, I could make out some. 'E weren't a big fellow, short an' stocky like, with flame red hair and a blue marke," he drew three fingers over his left eye, "'ere."

"Dagur," Hiccup said under his breath. "When did this happen?"

The leader spoke again, "T'were yesternoon. Ye'll not catch 'im, though. Once 'e took the dragon an' its rider 'e were gone into the fog. Wouldn't a' had time ta say 'Shmdit!'"

"Do you remember what species the dragon was, or what direction it came from?"

"Ef mem'ry serves, the dragon were a blue Deadly Nadder, though I don't rightly rememb'r where it came from, what with t' fog an' all..."

Hiccup didn't hear anything else. _Astrid. Dagur has Astrid. I was right to worry._

"Dedja hear me?" Hiccup was brought back to the ship by the crewman's raspy voice.

"Uh, no, sorry."

"I were sayin', Ef ye don't mind me askin', what's so important 'bout some rogue dragon trapper? Sure 'e wrecked our ship, but ef 'e can do that, I'll not be lookin' f'r payback."

"Um, something personal," Hiccup said vaguely. "Hey, look, there's a port not too far from here, if you can rig up some kind of rope, my dragon and I can tow you back."

"We'd be much obliged."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing! It really makes my day. I forgot to say this before, but in case you haven't noticed, I don't own _How to Train Your Dragon_ or its characters, nor do I want to. I would probably botch it up. Please review!

* * *

"Hiccup, you have to rest!" Fishlegs stood between the frazzled viking and his dragon's pen.

"Would Astrid rest if one of us were missing?" Hiccup made an attempt to get around Fishlegs but was met with a snarling Meatlug. Though it took more than a miffed Gronkle to intimidate him, Hiccup turned back around to face Fishlegs.

"She would if she knew she couldn't do the job well!" Fishlegs said. Hiccup crossed his arms and looked away. "Look Hiccup, I want to find Astrid as much as you do, but riding out from dawn till dark searching the entire ocean by square inch isn't the answer." Hiccup gave Fishlegs a death glare.

"Well what do you propose I do? Chart the mathematical course of Dagur's ship using quadrants and circumferences?" Hiccup's voice oozed with sarcasm and he waved his hands for emphasis. Fishlegs decided that this was not the time to instruct his friend on the many values and proper uses of trigonometry and geometry.

"No, but I think we should pick up a little bit more information. Right now all we have are the literally foggy observations of some less than educated fisherman. Maybe you should try someone with a bit more knowledge of the ships that sail in and out of port."

"And who would that be?" Hiccup said, crossing his arms again in what Fishlegs, if he hadn't known Hiccup better, would have called a pout.

"Well, I know he's not always the most direct person, but we could try trader Johann. He has helped us find Dagur in the past."

"Ok then, let's go." Hiccup turned and walked past the now docile Meatlug into Toothless's pen to get him ready. He heard a clank and spun around to see Fishlegs locking the chain on the door.

"What are you doing?!" Hiccup rushed to the door and reached his arms through wooden bars in hopes of swiping the keys from Fishlegs.

"Look Hiccup, it's been three days since we started looking for Astrid, and you've gotten almost no sleep."

"If you don't let me out of here, so help me I'll..." But Fishlegs wasn't done.

"Maybe you can handle it, but what about Toothless? You can't tell me that you haven't noticed how weak he's getting."

"What are you talking about? Toothless is fine! Look at him!" Hiccup gestured behind him and then glanced over his shoulder to where Toothless was stretched out on the floor. Concern crossed Hiccup's face as he walked over and knelt in front of his friend, "Hey, bud, are you ok?" Toothless shifted his head away from Hiccup and made a low rumble in his chest. Hiccup hung his head and sighed.

"I guess I was just too caught up to think about your side of things. I'm really sorry, bud. You have the day off." Toothless cooed and licked Hiccup square on the face. Hiccup blinked. "Well, I guess that means you forgive me." He turned around and saw Fishlegs walking out the door of the stable.

"Hey! Aren't you going to let me out? Fishlegs!" The blonde head appeared in the doorway again.

"Let you out? No, I know you too well for that. You'd probably steal the fishermen's ship or something and go see Johann yourself! I'll bring you some food and a blanket, and in the morning we'll all go talk to Johann."

"All of us?"

"Yes. In the morning." Fishlegs went out again, presumably to get what he had promised.

Hiccup sighed and went to sit by his dragon again, "Well, I guess it's just you and me, bud."

-0o0-0o0-0o0-0o0-0o0-0o0-

In the morning, as promised, the dragon riders left their base and flew out to trader Johann's post.

"You're looking for Dagur again?" Johann raised an eyebrow, "Whatever would possess you to do such a thing? Why, if I remember correctly, the last ti-"

"He has Astrid," Hiccup interrupted what he was sure would be a long ramble. Johann's eyes widened and he shook his head.

"Oh dear, oh dear! This is a horrible incident. Why of course, whatever I can do, to be sure! I do pride myself on being very helpful and direc-"

"Do you know where Dagur is?" Hiccup nearly shouted, and he probably would have grabbed Johann by the shirt front, but Tuffnut got in his way. Most likely by accident.

"Hiccup," Fishlegs said, "maybe you should go sit outside. We'll come and tell you when we figure something out." Snotlout grabbed Hiccup's arm, but he shook himself free and stormed outside. _Why? Why? Why am I so wrapped up in this?_ Astrid was his best friend, other than Toothless of course, but that being said, he should trust her to take care of herself. Did he... have feelings for her? She had kissed him, square on the mouth too, but that was so long ago, they had just been kids. Hiccup shook his head and leaned it back against the side of Johann's hut. He didn't know why he cared so much, but he knew he had to find Astrid.

After what seemed like an eternity, the others came out of the hut, and Hiccup stood up.

"Did he say anything?"

"When does he ever NOT say anything?" Ruffnut snorted.

Hiccup ignored her and turned to Fishlegs. "Well?"

"Johann gave us two sights of Dagur's supposed hideouts, but he's not guaranteed to be at either one."

Hiccup was already headed toward the dragons.

"So, what exactly are we doing?" Tuffnut queried after they had taken off. All eyes, even the dragons', turned toward Hiccup.

"We'll find the camp closest to here, and if Dagur isn't there, we'll fly along the sea route to the second one."

"Uh, and what if we find him?" Ruffnut continued her brother's misgivings, "Doesn't he have like, a bajillion ships with him?"

Fishlegs interjected, "First, 'bajillion' isn't even a number. Second, last time we saw Dagur he had about twenty ships, and Johann said he hasn't heard of anyone building ships since then."

"Twenty ships. Well, nineteen without the one Dagur's on. You guys can take that, right?" Hiccup looked back expectantly at his friends, who in turn stared at him blankly.

"Aren't we going to send someone for reinforcements from Berk?" Snotlout finally broke the silence.

"We don't have time. We need to get to Astrid before it's too late. Who knows what he's done to her."

The rest of the flight was very quiet, each of the riders was thinking about the hopelessness of their mission, but no one dared broach the subject with the rider leading them.

They arrived at the first destination, but all they found was a barren shoreline and an empty harbor nearby. Though it was nearly dusk, Hiccup urged them on, and very soon, they found Dagur.

The sun was getting near the horizon when Hiccup turned Toothless and put his hand out for the riders to stop.

"Dagur's fleet is just beyond this cloud bank. We're hidden right now, but we need to move quick if this is going to work. Ruff, Tuff, you take the eight ships in the middle of the fleet. Use wide sweeps and go up above their range if you need to. Snotlout and Fishlegs, you guys take the eleven ships around the edges. Draw their fire and aim for the masts. Try to get them to take each other out if you can. I'm taking Dagur's ship first. Without Dagur to command them, the other ships won't be as deadly. As soon as Toothless and I land on the deck, start attacking." The other riders nodded vacantly at these rapid-fire commands and Hiccup turned Toothless back around. He was about to dive over the fast moving bank of clouds when he stopped.

"And guys," Hiccup turned in his saddle, "try not to get hurt, ok?" He turned back around and dove down towards Dagur's ship. And to Astrid.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** It's here! The last chapter! Thanks again to everyone who has reviewed, you guys are the best! Once again, I don't own _How to Train Your Dragon,_ or Hiccup, or Astrid, or... anything really. I am but a poor soul who borrows from those who are blessed with more than she. Reviews are much appreciated! Enjoy!

* * *

As he tore over the edge of the cloud, Hiccup's eyes locked on the mast of Dagur's ship. Astrid was tied there with Dagur in front of her, inches from her face, his hand stroking her cheek. Hot fire rose up in Hiccup's chest and he realized why he had been so focused, so obsessed, with finding Astrid. He loved her, and he hadn't ever told her that.

Toothless seemed to sense his friend's urgency, so he folded his wings into a falcon dive. The dive got them close enough for Hiccup to hear the first alarm right as they fired on Dagur's ship. The first shot took out the starboard rail just before Dagur looked up and saw the deadly pair. Toothless' plasma blast shook the ship a second time and Dagur shouted something to his men, cutting the ropes that tied Astrid to the mast and dragging her toward the side of the ship. CRACK! As soon as he saw Astrid clear the mast, Hiccup fired a powerful blast at its base and it broke off, tumbling into the ocean. The ship rocked from the weight shift, and Hiccup had time to fire a shot near enough the crew so that most of them had to jump overboard. Two more blasts took care of the rest of the crew, and Hiccup landed on the deck to deal with Dagur.

Hiccup dismounted. As he advanced, Dagur shoved Astrid behind him and backed her dangerously close to a gaping hole in the ship's railing.

"Well if it isn't my favorite brother! How nice you came to visit. I've been having some lovely conversations with your friend here," Dagur glanced behind him at Astrid, who looked threatening even through her bedraggled appearance. "but she's not very talkative."

"Are you alright, Astrid?" Hiccup asked, his eyes still trained on Dagur. Astrid nodded weakly, but dropped her eyes. Hiccup stared daggers at the man in front of Astrid. "If you've done ANYTHING to her-" suddenly, Dagur shoved Astrid backwards and lunged for Hiccup.

"Hiccup!" Astrid screamed as she toppled over the side of the ship. Hiccup jumped over Dagur, causing him to thud into Toothless, and sprinted towards the gap in the railing, unstrapping his metal leg as he ran.

"Hold him, bud!" He yelled at Toothless just before he plunged into the icy water. Though it took him a moment to focus properly in the water, soon he spotted a wreath of beautiful golden hair not too far below him, but it was sinking fast. He propelled himself downward as best he could with his one leg. Hiccup could see Astrid struggling with the ropes that tied her hands, but the chains on her feet were pulling her down faster than he could get to her. He kept swimming toward her though his lungs burned and his muscles screamed in protest. All he knew was he had to keep going.

Suddenly Hiccup heard something plunge into the water above him, and he felt an enormous weight on his back, pushing him downward. It had knocked what little breath he had out of him, but he didn't notice, he was getting closer to Astrid.

When he was almost within reach of her, Hiccup saw Astrid's eyes close and her body go limp. He wanted to scream, to yell at her to wake up, but his lungs were empty. With his last bit of strength, Hiccup grabbed Astrid's hand and wrapped his arms around her. His head pounded and stars danced across his eyes as he felt himself being pulled upward by the back of his shirt. He knew he should have been worried about what exactly was pulling him, but his mind was too cloudy to care. He had Astrid, and that was all that mattered.

When Hiccup's head finally broke the surface of the water he gasped for air. Even before his lungs were filled, he started pulling himself and Astrid toward the side of the boat. He felt a gentle shove on his back and turned to see Toothless pushing them along.

"Thanks bud." The Night Fury only warbled in reply and climbed up on the ship, towing his humans up after him. Hiccup landed hard on the planks with Astrid on top of him. He scooted them back from the railing and laid Astrid gently on the deck, cutting the ropes on her hands and removing the chains from her feet. He had just put his fingers to her wrist to check for a pulse when a voice interrupted him.

"Brother! You came back! How disappointing." Hiccup had completely forgotten about Dagur up to that point. He strapped on the metal leg that Toothless had just brought to him and stood up. "Get her warm Toothless," he said. He walked toward Dagur, who was trapped under a crate and two barrels.

"Ah, good to see you," Dagur said between wheezes. "That dragon of yours if very bad mannered. Aren't you going to get me out from under these boxes?" Hiccup didn't answer him.

"It was all in good fun!" Dagur said uneasily, seeing Hiccup draw his Dragon Blade as he advanced toward him. Hiccup pointed his sword at Dagur's chest, close enough for Dagur to feel the heat on his face. Then Hiccup spoke.

"Put yourself in my shoes Dagur; someone has kidnapped your best friend, probably tortured them, tried to drown them, and you are almost killed trying to save them. Ask yourself what you wouldn't do to that person if you had the chance," the crazed grin left Dagur's face. "Now look at me," Hiccup said, and he saw Dagur go pale. "You are going to pay. You'll pay for all the crimes you've committed over the years, the assaults, the robberies, the murders. And if that girl over there doesn't wake up…" Hiccup shoved over the barrels and crate and grabbed front of Dagur's shirt, sword still trained on his chest. Hiccup brought Dagur's face within inches of his own, close enough to see the sweat stand out on Dagur's forehead. Hiccup stared in his eyes until Dagur looked away. "But you don't need to worry about me," Hiccup said quietly. "I'm not like you." He pushed Dagur into a cage on the deck and locked it.

Hiccup retracted his sword and went over to where Astrid was, her back now propped against Toothless' side and his tail curled protectively around her. The dragon had set a small box ablaze, and it was providing a good amount of heat. Hiccup crouched next to Astrid and listened for her breathing. He held his own breath, waiting for the sound that meant she would be alright. He stayed that way for seconds, minutes, hours, he couldn't tell. Finally he hung his head. Gathering her in his arms, he kissed her forehead over and over. _No_ he told himself. _No, this isn't how it happens. It can't be like this. I never got to tell her..._ He leaned back against Toothless, who chirped concernedly and sniffed Astrid's hand. Hiccup put his hand behind her head and pressed his forehead to hers, squeezing his eyes shut. This wasn't happening.

A sharp intake of breath made Hiccup open his eyes, and when he did, his own eyes were reflected in a sea of clear blue. Astrid's eyes grew wider and she lunged forward, coughing up seawater. Hiccup didn't wait. He hugged her around her waist and rested her head on his shoulder even as she threw her arms around his neck.

"Don't you ever do anything like that again, Astrid!" Hiccup said as she coughed seawater and bile down his arm. "I can't lose you! Understand! Promise me that you won't!"

"Promise." Astrid said after she had breathed enough air. Her voice was so weak and utterly un-Astrid-like that Hiccup's heart broke when he heard her.

Astrid laid her head back on his shoulder and they were still for a moment before she jerked up again.

"Stormfly!" she said, alarm written all over her face. "He took Stormfly when they captured me. Who knows what they've done to her!" Astrid stood, steadying herself by placing a hand on Toothless's back. Hiccup stood too, and watched Astrid totter a few steps, then collapse. She never hit the ground though, Hiccup was right there, lifting her up to set her on his dragon's back. Hiccup climbed up behind her and let her lean back against him.

"Where do you think she is, Astrid?"

"Probably below deck. Dagur has all sorts of cages and- other things -down there." Astrid shuddered and Hiccup wrapped his arms around her tighter.

Toothless climbed down the hatch on the deck into the hold. They were in a narrow corridor lined with solid iron doors. Hiccup got down from behind Astrid and went to the first door. He pressed his ear against it, hoping to hear something, but the metal was too thick.

"We're going to have to open it. Toothless, plasma blast!"

Toothless shot his blast at the door and it creaked open angrily. As the smoke cleared, Hiccup drew his sword and advanced into the cell. Empty. He came back out and went to the next cell.

"Ok, bud. Now this one." Blast, enter, empty. Next one. Blast, enter, empty. They went all the way down the left side and halfway up the right before they found something. Blast, enter.

"Stormfly!" Astrid slid off Toothless and crouched next to her dragon's head while Hiccup took his dagger and started cutting the ropes from Stormfly's muzzle and wings. Once her mouth was free, Stormfly let out a weak screech and licked Astrid's face before laying her head back down. Astrid sat down and leaned up against her dragon, laying her head back on its side. Hiccup realized how tired he was, and sat down next to Astrid. She leaned her head on his shoulder and Hiccup put an arm around her as Toothless laid down at their feet, chirping contentedly. Hiccup was almost asleep when his eyes shot open and he remembered what he had come to say.

"Astrid?" Hiccup started quietly. Astrid opened her eyes slowly.

"Yes?"

Hiccup took a deep breath, willing himself to spit it out. "Astrid, when you went missing I was desperate to find you. I didn't know why, but I knew that I would never be able to forgive myself if something happened to you. It wasn't until I saw Dagur up close to you that I realized what you meant to me, and if you had died without me telling you that, I- I would have… I don't know what I would have done. So to avoid panic like that in the future, I'm telling you now: I love you Astrid Hofferson, and I'll do anything to stop something like this from happening again." He paused, waiting for her response. When she didn't say anything Hiccup looked up at her, but her expression was unreadable. He dropped his eyes.

"And if-," Hiccup went on, more uncertainly, "if you don't feel the same way, it's ok, I can pretend I never said anything and we can go on like before, with nothing changed." There was still silence, and Hiccup suddenly realized how very unlike himself his outburst had been, and he wondered if he had startled her. He opened his mouth, but shut it again, deciding that, until she said something, he would be quiet.

Astrid leaned over and pecked him quickly on the lips. He looked up at her with the world in his eyes, and he saw that she had the same in hers. She was smiling.

"It took you long enough," she said. Hiccup kissed her again, this time more deeply, and then hugged her tightly. Despite his elation, his adrenaline was running out, and his eyes drooped.

"I love you, Hiccup." Astrid said in almost a whisper. He smiled.

"I love you too, Astrid." _And I always will._

* * *

Somehow (miraculously) the dragon riders had succeeded in doing enough minor damage to the rest of the fleet to cause it to leave after Dagur's ship had been destroyed. As the last of the fleet's tattered sails were disappearing , Fishlegs landed on the deck of Dagur's ship. When he didn't see any sign of the two humans or the Night Fury he feared the worst, but as he walked to the other end of the deck, and saw Dagur glaring at him from the cage, a smirk crept over his face and he made his way to the hold.

So he found Hiccup and Astrid in the safest place in the world: asleep on an enemy ship, locked in each other's arms, under the warmest blanket of dragon wings.

* * *

 **A/N:** I hope you liked it! Tell me if you did (or if you didn't). Thank you so much!


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